Improved construction of gun-boats



peller.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L. M. VAN SIOKLE, OF WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF GUN-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,3114, dated April28, 1663.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, L. M. VAN SICKLE, of Woodbridge, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Gun-Boats; and l do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specilcation, inWhich- Figure l represents a transverse vertical seetion vof myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention consists in the arrangement of two propellersone on eachside ot' the boat, and about in the middle ot' its lengthin combinationwith eXtra plates attached to the outer edges of the gunwales over thepropellers in such a manner that by said extra plates the propellers arefully secured againstinjury from an enemys vessel, and by the action ofthe two propellers the boat can be rapidly turned in either direction.

The invention consists, also, in securing the blades of the propellersto spiral strips projecting from the shaft and to each other by means ofrivets, in such a manner thatin case one of the blades should break orbecome injured it can be readily removed and replaced without disturbingthe other parts of the pro- 'lo enable others skilled in the art to makeand use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

'Ihe hull A of my boatconsists of a square compartment, with a atbottom, B, and covered by a roof, C, inclined from the middle towardboth sides, as clearly shown in Fig. l of the drawings. From this hullproject the gunwales D on the sides and ends, as clearly shown in Fig.2, and these gunwales are supported below by a series of stanchions, E,and they are protected above by suitable armor secured to the inclinedposts F. By these means the boat presents a sharp edge all round, andits armor is inclined on all sides, so that the enemys shots will glanceoft and cause noharm. The space under the inclined posts F and outsidethe compartment A is intended to support the guns, and the engine orengines used for propelling the boat are placed in the inner compartmentout of harms way.

G G are the propellers, which are plactd one on each side of the boat atabout the middle of its length. Each propeller is protected by an extraplate, H, secured to the under edge of the gunwale, so that no shot isable to hit either of the propellers and cripple the boat. Thesepropellers are intended to be so arranged that they can be rotated inthe same or in opposite directions at the pleasure of the engineer, andthereby the boat can readily be propelled, or backed, or turned ineither direction, which is of great advantage for a gun-boat in action.

The propellers are constructed of a series of blades, a, which areconnected to spiral strips b, fastened to the shafts c, and the edgesot' the blades are secured together by rivets in such a manner that saidblades form a continuous screw-thread of several revolutions. 1f eitherof the blades should become injured by any accident it can readily beremoved and replaced without taking the propellers out of the water orwithout raising the boat out of the water. The propellers can thus bereadily constructed out of boiler-iron, and a number of eXtra blades canbe carried along in the boat, so that any accidental damage to thepiropellers can be repaired without loss of time.

This boat can be used with great advantage as a transport, on account ofits small draft. It can run up readily into creeks or inland waters andclose in shore, to take on board troops or articles requisite for thesubsistence or armament of an army, and Whenever desired it can bereadily reconverted into a gunboat.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The arrangement of the extra plates H on the outer edges of thegunwales D, in combination with the side propellers, G Gr, constructedand operating as and for the purpose specified. n

.2. The arrangement of spiral dan ges b, projecting from thepropeller-shafts c, in combination with a series of single blades, a,fastened to each other and to the flanges b by means o f rivets orbolts, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

L. M. VAN SICKLE.

Witnesses:

M. S. PAETEIDGE, DANIEL RoBEETsoN

